Directory of Politics and Voting Fraud In Ohio

News Intelligence Analysis

Battle for Ohio:
The Directory of Politics and Voting Fraud

See Also:

Directory of the Rise of Dominionism in America

Directory of Religious Trends

A Yurica Report Special:

Blackwell’s Un-American Scheme:

Under the Guise of “Character and Civic
Renewal” Ohio State Foists a Religious
Moral Code upon Its Citizens

by Katherine Yurica

J. Kenneth Blackwell has stepped to the
forefront of the American culture wars. He has
posted his official endorsement of a 20-point
religious moral code claimed to be “a shared
vocabulary of character-building ethics” on Ohio’s
official Secretary of State web site. Blackwell
wrote, “Character is the cornerstone of American
citizenship. And good citizenship is the foundation
of community. But to a lot of people, civic renewal
means the opportunity to not only religionize our
government, but, as we shall see, to create a new
religion that is decidedly not Christianity. Instead,
it is an opportunity to convert our citizens into docile
followers of a new authoritarian rule.

(Includes a linked glossary of definitions of terms
plus parallel columns
that compare the text.)

Blackwell's Son In Trouble
for Cheating on Bar Exam:
Son of former Ohio secretary of state
in court fight over bar exam
Rahshann Blackwell could be barred from
becoming a lawyer before 2009 over investigation
findings.

By Laura A. Bischoff

At the 2003 bar exam, Blackwell — the middle
child of politician J. Kenneth Blackwell and
Cincinnati Schools Superintendent Rosa Blackwell
— wrote in the test booklet after time had been
called. He lost credit for that portion and failed
the bar for the third time.The Board of Commissioners
on Character and Fitness, an arm of the Ohio
Supreme Court, decided the 2003 conduct was
an aberration and he could take the exam again.But
at the July 2005 exam, Blackwell once again wrote
in the booklet after time had been called.

Ken Blackwell Runs for RNC Chairman

Blackwell recently sent a letter to the
members of the RNC

Katherine Yurica

"After prayerful consideration," Ken Blackwell, the
former controversial Secretary of State of Ohio,
announced that he is seeking to become the new
Chairman of the Republican National Committee.
If he succeeds, the GOP will take a decidedly
right turn into the political religion of the future,
which no doubt will include Sarah Palin and Mike
Huckabee. Blackwell, an ardent religious dominionist
who presently works for the radical Family Research
Council, and who was the Vice Chairman of the 2008
Republican National Convention Platform Committee,
has a record of actively seeking to impose his religious
beliefs and doctrines upon citizens of his state. And now,
according to Marc Ambinder, he is even closer to his goal.

Faithful Voted on Values
War, scandals and social justice
all swayed religious voters, observers
say

For Republicans, Tuesday’s election was a
defeat of almost biblical proportions. But for
conservative religious leaders like the Rev.
Russell Johnson, who staunchly backed
defeated GOP gubernatorial candidate J.
Kenneth Blackwell, there will be another day.

Democrats Make Virtual Sweep in Ohio

By Peter Slevin

At the top of the ticket, social conservative
J. Kenneth Blackwell fared worse than any
GOP candidate for governor here since 1912.

The Republican defeat in a state that carried
President Bush to victory just two years ago
was a product of a toxic political environment
and a pair of disciplined Democratic campaigns
by Rep. Ted Strickland, elected governor, and
Rep. Sherrod Brown, who beat DeWine.

Evangelicals no longer
lock for the GOP
Moderates, liberals redefine `values' vote
By Tim Jones
November 6, 2006

In the world of safe bets, oddsmakers could
count on white evangelical Christians to vote
Republican, three out of four times, because
those voters and the GOP shared the same values.
In this midterm election, however, the one-sided
nature of that relationship may be changing and
along with it the very definition of values.

Kerry Reignites 2004 Battle over Ohio
He Accuses GOP Governor Candidate
of Partisanship
- John Wildermuth, Chronicle Political Writer
Friday, September 1, 2006
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry jumped back
into the 2004 presidential race this week with a
scathing letter accusing Ken Blackwell, Ohio's
Republican secretary of state, of using "the power
of his state office to try to intimidate Ohioans and
suppress the Democratic vote'' in the 2004 election.

U.S. Judge Strikes Down
Parts of Ohio Election Law

By Lisa A. Abraham
Beacon Journal staff writer

CLEVELAND - A federal judge in Cleveland
this afternoon struck down portions of the new
state election law, ruling they would have a
chilling effect on voter registration. U.S. District
Judge Kathleen O'Malley granted a preliminary
injunction that prohibits enforcement of sections
of House Bill 3, the election measure that went
into effect earlier this year. The case was brought
against Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell
by numerous groups involved in statewide voter
registration efforts.

Lawsuit Alleges Ballot
Tampering in 2004 Election
Group says ballots in Democratic
precincts were pre-punched, negating
Kerry votes
September 01, 2006
Jim Siegel

A coalition of critics of the 2004 election is
insisting it has uncovered new evidence of
ballot tampering in Ohio that caused a number of
John Kerry’s votes to get tossed out. The group
filed a federal civilrights lawsuit yesterday, asking
U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley to declare
that Ohioans’ voting rights were violated in 2004 and
to appoint a special master to ensure fairness in
the 2006 election.

Voter Sticker's Intent Debated

Wording has roots in program with ties to
evangelist's tenets

By Lisa A. Abraham
Beacon Journal staff writer

The ``I Voted Today'' sticker -- the seemingly
innocuous emblem that voters slap on their
chests after casting their ballot -- has been
changed by Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth
Blackwell. Since last November, voters have
emerged from polling places with a new
sticker that says: ``I Voted Today -- Change
Our World, Vote Your Conscience.'' While those
words may seem equally innocuous, they have
roots in what Blackwell calls a ``character-building''
program that has ties to a national ``character-
building'' movement founded by Chicago-area
evangelist Bill Gothard.

Secretaries of State:
Flashpoint in '06?
By Pamela M. Prah

Ohio's top election official, J. Kenneth
Blackwell, has handed over some of his
election duties to an aide while he campaigns
to be that state's first black governor, hoping
to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

Blackwell falls farther back in poll

Democratic gubernatorial candidate
Ted Strickland continues to gain in at least one poll.

A new SurveyUSA poll shows the Democratic
congressman leading Republican Ohio Secretary of
State J.Kenneth Blackwell 57 percent to 35 percent.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4
percentage points.

Ohio Election Officials Question
voting sticker language

Election officials in a northeast Ohio county
are reconsidering the use of a new variation
of the "I Voted Today" sticker given to voters
at the polls. In 2004, Secretary of State Ken
Blackwell changed the sticker to read
"Change Our World, Vote Your Conscience."
Brian Rothenberg, a spokesman for the Ohio
Democratic Party, said Blackwell, who is the
Republican candidate for governor, is using the
sticker to send "some type of religious message."

Ohio’s Crusade

Conservative Christians try to reshape
Ohio through the church and the Capitol

Sunday, July 23, 2006
By Steve Myers

But there to stop the beast was the Rev. Rod
Parsley -- the overseer of a worldwide ministry
headquartered at World Harvest in southeastern
Columbus, an outspoken critic of popular culture
and a nationally known Republican ally.Parsley,
one of the most prominent leaders of a movement
of conservative Christian evangelicals in Ohio, has
consulted with the Bush administration on legislation
and U.S. Supreme Court appointees, donated to the
president, and publicly prayed for him. He helped turn
out social conservatives in 2004 who voted to re-elect
Bush and ban gay marriage in the state. Now, the
pastor and his allies are driving to reshape Ohio
through the Republican Party.

Poll: Shows Blackwell
Losing Governor's Race

Democrat Strickland Leads
Many participants point to an investment
scandal among Ohio's Republican-dominated
government as problematic.
July 24, 2006

Democrat Ted Strickland leads Republican
J. Kenneth Blackwell by 20 percentage points
in the race to be Ohio's next governor, a
newspaper poll published Sunday shows.

Holy Toledo
by Frances Fitzgerald
Ohio’s gubernatorial race tests the power
of the Christian right.
Issue of 2006-07-31

Pastor Rod Parsley stood on a flag-bedecked
dais on the steps of Ohio’s Statehouse last
October and, amid cheers from the crowd below,
proclaimed the launch of “the largest evangelical
campaign ever attempted in any state in America.”
A nationally known televangelist and the leader
of a twelve-thousand-member church on the outskirts
of Columbus, Parsley had gathered a thousand
people for the event, and attracted bystanders
with a multimedia performance involving a video
on a Jumbotron and music by Christian singers
and rappers broadcast so loud that it reverberated
off the tall buildings south of the Statehouse.

Campaign Ad for Ken Blackwell Disguised
as News Segment: Blackwell's Wrongdoing
Itemized
Reported by Janie - June 21, 2006

"Democrat Ted Strickland attacked Republican
Secretary of State Ken Blackwell for corruption and
bribery scandals in Washington as well as in Ohio,
where several investigations are under way and the
term limited GOP Governor, Bob Taft has already been
convicted of misdemeanor ethics violations. Blackwell,
who would become only the second black governor in
history, and first black Republican governor ever, has
never been implicated in any wrong doing," despite
substantial evidence to the contrary.

Forms to Be Delivered
In Person

Blackwell’s changes to voter
registration upheld

Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Mark Niquette

Efforts to register new voters in Ohio will be
undermined by rules written by Secretary of
State J. Kenneth Blackwell and upheld yesterday
by a state panel, critics said after a contentious
hearing. The Joint Committee on Agency Rule
Review voted along party lines not to invalidate
the rules submitted by Blackwell, the Republican
nominee for governor. Outvoted Democrats accused
Blackwell of using the narrowest interpretation
possible to suppress voter registration — especially
among minority and poor residents.

Ohio State's Lost Jobs as
Campaign Issue
Ohio's 68th Governor Will Face Big Job
Reversing State's Economic Fortunes

By Kevin Kemper

When voters show up at the polls this November
to elect either Republican Secretary of State J.
Kenneth Blackwell or Democratic U.S. Rep. Ted
Strickland as governor, the winner could be the
one whose plan to reverse manufacturing job losses
and other economic problems in the state resonates
most with Ohioans.

New Abortion Laws
May Be on Horizon in Ohio
Eight proposals, including a total
ban, have been offered for debate
by Ohio legislators.
By Laura A. Bischoff

In Ohio, the debate over abortion — which
never quite cools — is heating up again. With
two new faces on the U.S. Supreme Court,
abortion opponents anticipate their best
opportunity in years to overturn the 33-year-
old Roe v. Wade decision that legalized
abortion. And the governor's seat is open.
Republican J. Kenneth Blackwell opposes
abortion in all instances, including if the life
of the mother is in danger.

New Section:

Ohio State 2004 Election Dispute:

A Vast Political Misfortune

Or Why Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is Correct
in His Assessment of the Late 2004 Election
(which was sadly murdered by the G.O.P.,
may it rest in peace). And Why Salon.com’s
Article Attacking Kennedy is Wrong.
By Katherine Yurica

Miller Counters Salon.com

Some Might Call It Treason:
An Open Letter to Salon

By Mark Crispin Miller

Two weeks ago, Rolling Stone came out with
"Did Bush Steal the 2004 Election?" -- a masterful
investigative piece by Robert Kennedy, Jr., arguing
that Bush & Co. stole their "re-election" in Ohio, and
pointing out exactly how they did it. ..One week after
Kennedy's article appeared, Salon posted an attack
upon it by Farhad Manjoo, the magazine's technolog
reporter. That piece contained so many errors of fact
and logic, and was throughout so brazenly wrong-headed,
that several hundred readers sent in angry letters, many
of them brilliantly refuting some of Manjoo's misconceptions
and mistakes, and quite a few demanding that Salon
cancel their subscriptions.

Illegitimate Election
A key source for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
responds to criticism of his analysis of the 2004 election

By Steven F. Freeman

Jun. 12, 2006 | Because Robert F Kennedy Jr.
based much of the discussion in his Rolling Stone
article on interviews with me and on a close
reading of my new book, coauthored with Joel
Bleifuss, "Was the 2004 Presidential Election
Stolen? Exit Polls, Election Fraud, and the Official
Count," and because Kennedy cites in his thorough
footnotes many of the same key sources we worked
from, I feel compelled to address directly several
statements that Farhad Manjoo makes about the
exit polls, both in his original Salon article and
in his response to Kennedy's response to that
article -- statements that are either incorrect or
based on misunderstandings about exit polls
and the 2004 results.

Kennedy’s Challenge:
Salon, Mother Jones & the Tortured Dialogue
On Election Fraud 2004

By Michael Collins
June 14, 2006

The prevailing silence on election fraud 2004 was
interrupted June 1 by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his article
Was the 2004 Election Stolen? He argues clearly and
forcefully that the 2004 election was stolen, basing his
analysis and evidence on events and outcomes in the
state of Ohio. Had Kerry won the Ohio race, he would
be president today. Hence, the theft of Ohio was the
theft of the election.

A Call for Investigation
Electronic voting machines pose
a grave threat to democracy
A Rolling Stone Editorial
Election officials across the country are currently
scrambling to install electronic voting machines
in time for the midterm elections this fall. The touch-
screen technology, they insist, will make voting
as easy and secure as withdrawing cash from an ATM.

Was the 2004 Election Stolen?

Republicans prevented more than 350,000 voters in
Ohio from casting ballots or having their votes counted --
enough to have put John Kerry in the White House.

BY ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR

Like many Americans, I spent the evening of the 2004
election watching the returns on television and wondering
how the exit polls, which predicted an overwhelming victory
for John Kerry, had gotten it so wrong. By midnight, the
official tallies showed a decisive lead for George Bush --
and the next day, lacking enough legal evidence to
contest the results, Kerry conceded.

"No" Says Farhad Manjoo:

To date, dozens of experts, both independently and as
part of several research panels, have spent countless
hours examining 2004's presidential election, especially
the race in Ohio. Many of them have concluded that the
election there strains conventional notions of what a
democracy ought to look like; very little about that
race was fair, clean or competent.

How To Steal an Election
It's easier to rig an electronic voting machine
than a Las Vegas slot machine, says University
of Pennsylvania visiting professor Steve Freeman.
That's because Vegas slots are better monitored
and regulated than America's voting machines

Early Intensity Underlines
Ohio Races

By ADAM NAGOURNEY and IAN URBINA

In many ways, the political environment here
mirrors the national one, with its brew of
economic anxiety, corruption and voter
weariness with one-party dominance. Beyond
corruption and worry about Iraq, the contests
in Ohio are shaping up as a face-off between
two powerful forces in American politics:
economic issues, led by job loss, trade and
health care worries; and social issues, notably
abortion, same-sex marriage and gun control.

Punch-card Voting is Illegal in Ohio

Professor: Appellate ruling in Ohio is first in U.S.
to say a state's equipment violates equal protection
By Lisa A. Abraham

The 2002 case, which was decided in December 2004,
was filed against Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth
Blackwell by the ACLU on behalf of voters in Summit,
Hamilton and Montgomery counties. The suit claimed
the use of punch-card voting in some Ohio counties
but not in others violated voters' rights to equal protection
under the law. The suit also claimed the system violated
voters' rights to have their votes counted, and violated the
Voting Rights Act of 1965 by having a larger negative
impact on African-American voters.

Report: Firms Give Big to Official
Blackwell defends taking $1 million from
those seeking work with state

COLUMBUS - Republican J. Kenneth Blackwell
has accepted more than $1 million in campaign
contributions from employees of companies seeking
business with the statewide offices he's held for
the past 12 years, a newspaper reported.

Pair of Pastors Emerge
in Ohio Politics
Ministers are faces, voices of movement
With differing styles, evangelical Christian
leaders can sway many in pews around state

by Doug Oplinger and Dennis J. Willard

COLUMBUS - On the Sunday before Ohio voters re-
elected George W. Bush to a second term, the Rev.
Russell Johnson took to his pulpit in Lancaster to
make sure the faithful knew he was not neutral on
the outcome of the votes they were about to cast.

Opposition to Tax Limits Grows
Blackwell sticks by initiative as opposition grows
Saturday, April 15, 2006

Alan Johnson and Catherine Candisky

Despite rising opposition that includes churches,
business organizations and local government officials,
Republican gubernatorial candidate J. Kenneth Blackwell
is standing by his plan to limit government spending.

Blackwell, (Ohio Official)
Invested in Vote Machine Co.

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The state's top elections
official said Monday he accidentally invested in
a company that makes voting machines. Secretary
of State Kenneth Blackwell, who is seeking the
Republican nomination for governor, said he
discovered the shares for Diebold Inc. while
preparing a required filing for the Ohio
Ethics Commission.

The New Face of Apartheid:
J. Kenneth Hackwell
March 30, 2006
The most unprincipled and opportunistic man
in the history of Ohio, Secretary of State J.
Kenneth Blackwell, stands poised to claim the
Republican primary for governor. Blackwell and
his far-right theocratic “rapture-ready” Christian
dominionists will doom the Buckeye State
to further despair.

Third Elections Worker Indicted
Over Presidential Recount
3/9/2006, 5:11 a.m. ET
The third highest ranking employee at the
Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has been
indicted on charges of mishandling ballots during
the 2004 presidential election recount.

Did 308,000 Cancelled Ohio
Voter Registrations Put Bush
Back in the White House?
by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
February 28, 2006

As we reported more than a year ago, some
133,000 voters were purged from the registration
rolls in Hamilton County (Cincinnati) and Lucas
County (Toledo) between 2000 and 2004. The
105,000 from Cincinnati and 28,000 from Toledo
exceeded Bush's official alleged margin of victor
---just under 119,000 votes out of some 5.6 million
the Republican Secretary of State. J. Kenneth
Blackwell, deemed worth counting.

Ohio GOP Poised to Gut Election
Protection on Way to Permanent
National Domination
by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman

Ohio's GOP-controlled legislature is
poised to pass---probably today (Tuesday,
January 31) ---a repressive new law that will
gut free elections here and is already surfacing
around the US. The bill is designed to help end
free elections and continue the process of
installing the GOP as America's permanent
ruling party.

State Official Talks to Chamber
About Character
By Jefferson Wolfe

"What does character look like in Fostoria?"
The was the question Monty Lobb, the Ohio
assistant secretary of state, asked the city's
business leaders Thursday night.He was the
featured speaker at the Fostoria Area Chamber
of Commerce's annual dinner, which took place
at the Parish Life Center at St. Wendelin Church.
Lobb spoke about a program to develop character
put into effect by Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth
Blackwell after he took office. It is called "Uncommon
Sense" and features 20 principles of character
Blackwell wanted to build in his staff and employees.

[Note: This article is offered to show how the cult of
character is sold to the public.]

Church Leaders Come Forward to
Defend Call for IRS Audit
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Joe Hallett
The Rev. Eric Williams says more pastors are joining
a call for an IRS investigation of the political activities
of two local churches. Religious leaders who accused
two evangelical pastors of illegally playing politics came
forward yesterday and reaffirmed their decision to
challenge the tax-exempt status of the pastors’
churches.

Cult of Character
How the 'secular' Character Training
Institute is working to build evangelist
Bill Gothard's vision of a First-Century
Kingdom of God--one city, one state,
one school board, one police force
and one mind at a time.

By Silja J.A. Talvi January 9, 2006

From the outside the bland, unmarked
exterior of the Character Training Institute's
headquarters blends remarkably well into
its immediate surroundings. This is a
section of Oklahoma City that hasn't yet
benefited from the nearby, upscale urban
development intended to draw both tourism
and business to the area. Both the downtown
Greyhound Station and the county jail are
situated a few blocks from here, which explains
the number of forlorn, transient men and women
wandering down West Main Street. For the most
part these folks seem to have more immediate
priorities than paying attention to the dozens of
foreign-looking visitors entering and exiting the
10-story Character Training Institute (CTI), which
also serves as the headquarters of the International
Association of Character Cities (IACC).

Faith Under Fire, Part 1
Gothard Juvenile Center Investigated

By Karen Hensel

The News 8 I-Team first broke the news that
a faith-based juvenile center in Indianapolis has
changed its policy on spanking. The policy
changed to "no spanking" after the mother of a
10-year-old girl who spent the last 10 months
in the center complained.

Faith Under Fire: Juvenile Center
Investigated
Station WISH-TV Indianapolis
Indiana Directory of Investigative
Articles
From the outside, the Indianapolis Training
Center has all the appearances of an upscale
hotel. But insiders say what drives the center
is a combination of faith and fear. Follow this
continuing News 8 I-Team investigation.
Scroll down to read the latest stories.

Pastor Acknowledges
Making Political Contributions
To Blackwell

ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A pastor with ties to
one of three GOP candidates for governor said
Friday a complaint filed with the IRS over those
connections is off base and part of a liberal
political agenda.

Blackwell Tells Religious
Leaders to Ignore Complaints

HARTVILLE, Ohio G-O-P gubernatorial
candidate J-Kenneth Blackwell is telling
two evangelical churches to keep supporting
him despite complaints from other pastors.

Group Seeks I.R.S. Inquiry
of Two Ohio Churches
By STEPHANIE STROM
A group of religious leaders has sent a
complaint to the Internal Revenue Service
requesting an investigation of two large
churches in Ohio that they say are improperly
campaigning on behalf of a conservative
Republican running for governor.

Laws of man, God obeyed,
World Harvest Church says

Parsley spokesman: ‘Left-leaning’ critics
ignore group’s work with poor, hungry

The Rev. Rod Parsley’s World Harvest Church
and two affiliates always have obeyed federal
tax laws, and an accusation to the contrary by
31 area pastors is "baseless and without merit,"
World Harvest said yesterday.

Statement from World Harvest
ChurchTuesday, January 17, 2006

January 16, 2006

The complaints filed by a consortium of
liberal ministers against World Harvest
Church, the Center for Moral Clarity and
Reformation Ohio are baseless and
without merit.

Securities Fraud Litigation Filed
Against Diebold, Inc.

By Brad Friedman
Eight Current and Former Ohio Executives
Named as Co-Defendants, Including former
CEO O'Dell and New CEO Swidarski

Class Action Suit Alleges Fraud, Insider
Trading, Manipulation of Stock Prices,
Concealment of Known Flaws in Voting
Machines and Company Structural Problems

The suit was filed December 13, 2005 in U.S.
Federal District Court in Ohio and alleges the
company "artificially inflated" stock prices through
misleading public information designed to conceal
the true nature of Diebold's financial and legal
situation. The defendants are also alleged to have
attempted to disguise well-known and ongoing
problems with Diebold's Voting Machine equipment
and software. Additionally, the suit alleges insider
trading by defendants resulting in proceeds of $2.7
million. Remedies are sought under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934.

GOP Bill Changes How Ohio
Citizens Vote
Ohioans would have to show ID at
polls. Critics say it will suppress turnout
By Dennis J. Willard and Doug Oplinger
COLUMBUS - For years, voters in Ohio arrived
at their polling place on Election Day, signed
their names into a book and waited for a poll
worker to verify the signatures. Then they
received the green light to cast their ballots.
Next year, that could change.

Ohio Governor Candidates Step Up
to Podium, Pulpit
By William Hershey
Dayton Daily News

COLUMBUS | Hallelujah sisters and brothers.

Clap your hands. Say amen.And, of course, get
ready for the usher to pass the collection plate.
Today let's hear from Brother Jim and Sister C.J.
Brother Ken probably has something to say but
surely he'll give up the pulpit for a morning.

With New Legislation, Ohio Republicans
Plan Holiday Burial for American
Democracy

Blackwell Issued Statewide Threats Against Voters

by Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
December 6, 2005

But despite significant court challenges, the Republicans
are forcing changes in long-standing election laws that
have allowed citizens to vote based on their signature
alone. Across the US, GOP Jim Crow laws will eliminate
millions of Democratic voters from the registration rolls.
In swing states like Ohio, such ballots are almost
certain to be crucial.

Democrats object to election overhaul plan
Say Republicans excluded them from process
By William Hershey

COLUMBUS | Republican J. Kenneth Blackwell, the
secretary of state, now is satisfied but Senate
Democrats are crying foul about a Republican-
engineered plan to overhaul Ohio election procedures.
The version that cleared the Senate Rules Committee
on Wednesday eased up on restrictions limiting the
role of the secretary of state, the state's chief elections
officer, in political campaigns.

Pastor Blends Evangelism, Politics
By Andrew Welsh-Huggins
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published December 3, 2005
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Evangelist Rod Parsley
wants to gather voters as he wins souls, a mixture
that's causing a stir in the state that put President
Bush back in the White House. The televangelist
opposed to gay "marriage" and critical of Islam
hopes the effort he calls Reformation Ohio will
convert 1 million people to Christianity, help the
poor and register 400,000 new voters.

Election reform debate fierce
Blackwell spokesman, Jacobson spar over proposal
By William Hershey
Dayton Daily News

COLUMBUS | State Sen. Jeff Jacobson, R-Butler
Twp., and a spokesman for Ohio Secretary of State J.
Kenneth Blackwell, the state's top elections officer,
tangled verbally Tuesday over a proposal to prohibit
Blackwell and any future secretary of state from
playing a leadership role in any political campaigns
other than his or her own.The disagreement was one of
several that erupted as the Senate Rules Committee
took up a bill to overhaul elections procedures.

Bill Seeks Ohio Election Reforms
Proposal would ban backing of candidates
by secretary of state

Associated Press

COLUMBUS - Ohio's chief elections officer would
no longer be able to hold two jobs seemingly at
odds with each other -- counting votes and backing
candidates -- under changes to an election-reform
bill released Monday.

J. (John) Kenneth Blackwell's Profile

Age: 57.
Party: Republican.Hometown: Cincinnati.
Family: wife, Rosa, superintendent of Cincinnati schools;
three children. Education: bachelor's and master's degrees
in psychology, Cincinnati Xavier University.

J. Kenneth Blackwell: There He
Goes Again
By Edith Earle Fonder
(With Apologies to Eudora Welty)

Now just look what’s happenin’ in the great state
of Ohio! Here comes this little pip squeak Ken
Blackwell runnin’ for governor before he’s learned
how to supervise one single honest election in that
state! How do you figure these folks? Now, I don’t
want anyone getting the wrong idea. I am a southerner,
and to me, Ohio will always be southern! They had the
good sense to name Ohio State after the best football
team in America!

Pastor crusades for voters
Evangelical minister starts $30 million
campaign to refocus Ohioans' values
Blackwell Speaks at Crusade
By Doug Oplinger and Dennis J. Willard
Beacon Journal staff writers
COLUMBUS - Several hundred evangelical
Christians rallied on the south steps of the
Ohio Capitol on Friday to launch Reformation
Ohio, a $30 million campaign to sign up
souls for Christ and the voting booth. Dropping
such names as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.,
Martin Luther and John Wesley, and with the
techno wizardry of a political convention, the
Rev. Rod Parsley declared he is launching a
nonpartisan, evangelistic mission to properly
reset the world's moral compass, beginning in Ohio.

Blackwell's Citizens for Tax Reform

Citizens for Tax Reform’s Tax Expenditure Limitation
(TEL) Amendment limits state and local government
annual spending growth to 3.5 per cent or the sum
of the rate of inflation plus population growth.

Blackwell receives McCain's backing
By the Columbus Bureau

Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell announced
an endorsement Thursday from Sen. John McCain,
R-Arizona, in Blackwell's run for governor.

Ohio's Diebold Debacle:
New machines call election results into question
by Bob Fitrakis & Harvey Wasserman
November 24, 2005
Massive Election Day irregularities are emerging in
reports from all over Ohio after the introduction of
Diebold's electronic voting in nearly half of the Buckeye
State’s counties. A recently released report by the
non-partisan General Accountability Office warned of
such problems with electronic voting machines.

Blackwell's tenure may be last of kind
Issue 5 would give election duties to
independent board
By William Hershey
Dayton Daily News

COLUMBUS | — Last year was a busy one for
J. Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio's Republican secretary
of state. He was an honorary co-chairman of President
Bush's Ohio re-election campaign and also actively
supported passage of a constitutional amendment to
ban gay marriages and civil unions.

Reclaiming Ohio - the farce that was
By Doug Berger
My hometown of Columbus, Ohio is like a lot of
hometowns around the country. When issues of
morality or politics come up, you can bet that
religious leaders will have something to say about it.
A couple of years ago, when the Columbus City
Council was preparing to add domestic partners
of city workers to the worker's employment benefits,
a collection of ministers and church leaders from
across the religious spectrum came together and
threatened to take the issue to the ballot box. The
council, not wanting to cause confrontation with
religious leaders, quickly dropped the issue. It seems
that domestic partner is a buzzword for gay couples l
iving in sin not to mention other unmarried couples
living in sin.

65-cent plan renews school funding
debate

Many Ohioans don't have faith in how school leaders
spend money. When a school district faces a financial
crisis, the typical solution is seeking a new levy - many
times very large. But taxpayers want school administrators
and boards to spread the pain. Districts that prove they
can make the hard choices eventually will get loyalty
from voters. Those that don't likely have leaders who will
confront a steady stream of complaints about their inability
to let high-paid administrators go when pennies must
be pinched.

Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell is seizing on
this sentiment at a time when he hopes to be the Republican
Party's nominee for governor in 2006. He will push a ballot
initiative that requires the state's 612 school districts to
spend at least 65 percent of its operating budget on
instructional expenditures. He hopes to have the proposal
before Ohio voters in November 2006.

Secretary of State candidate announces
in Ross
Article published Sep 5, 2005
By KATE GIAMMARISE
Gazette Staff Writer Jennifer Brunner, a former
member of the Franklin County Board of Elections
and former Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge,
stopped Saturday morning in Chillicothe to announce
her candidacy for Ohio Secretary of State.

More join crowd of people running
for state office
GOP, Dems not lacking for primary candidates
August 30, 2005
By Jim Bebbington
Dayton Daily NewsDAYTON | Candidates are beginning
to line up for the 2006 elections for statewide offices.
Colin Beach, a 26-year-old Butler Twp. man who recently
graduated from law school, announced Monday he is
running as a Republican next year for Ohio Secretary of State.

Conservative churches to flex muscle
Pastors statewide organizing effort to
elect candidates
Sunday, March 27, 2005
James Dao
One goal for the group is to help Secretary of State
J. Kenneth Blackwell win the governor`s office in 2006.
Christian conservative leaders from scores of Ohio`s
fastest-growing churches are mounting a campaign
to win control of local government posts and Republican
organizations, starting with the 2006 governor`s race.

Ohio, Blackwell & the Christian
Right
By Frederick Clarkson
Recently, the Ohio Restoration Project
announced plans to mobilize conservative
Christian voters towards the 2006 elections.
The principal beneficiary appears to be
Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell
who is running for the Republican nomination
for governor.

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